Twisted Dreams
by Kariko
Summary: Kariko was an unbelievably normal girl who just happened to be obsessed with anime. That is, until she finds herself with Sesshoumaru. When her best friend, Valen, shows up, they find out that they are the only ones who know how to defeat an evil god.
1. Life Can Be SOOO Unfair

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha (unfortunately) or any other characters in the show. Though I do own me-Kariko, and Valen.

Chapter 1: Life can be SOOO Unfair

_Ring. Just ring._ I sat and mentally counted down the seconds until the bell would ring. 30... _The sooner it rings, the sooner I will be to Saturday, when Inuyasha comes on. _25..._ I know I should be working, but I just can't concentrate. _20..._ I really need to get a new picture of Inuyasha to put on the cover of my binder. This one is getting torn up. _15..._ the sketch of Inu I have on my planner is also kinda worn out... I really need to get a new color ink cartridge._ 10..._ I can't wait anymore!!! Hurry up and ring before I hit something...like Rod._ 5... I picked up my books and sat on the edge of my seat, ready to run.

_Brrriiiinnnggggg_... I jumped out of my seat and raced out the door of Mrs. Opperman's math class. I opened my locker and packed my backpack as fast as I could. _Yes!!!_ I thought as I realized that I had no homework. Too bad I still needed my backpack to carry the loads of fan fiction, mainly about Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakasho, I was currently reading.

I definitely -did not- feel like riding the bus. For one, it was a really nice day outside, and I needed the exercise. Also, it takes bus 2, my bus, -forever- to arrive at my school. In fact, I once timed the bus. We get out of school at 3:20, and I get home around 4:10. That's almost an hour. I could have probably gotten to my apartments quicker by walking than taking the bus. Sad, ain't it? Oh, well. Too bad I never got to find out.

After about ten minutes of walking, I heard something. It wasn't very loud, but I have awesome hearing and can pick up almost any sound. There was a forest-type place where I was walking, and that was where the noise had come from. I'm sure that a normal person would have left well enough alone and kept walking, due to the threat of insane psychopathic serial killers. But I, having the curiosity of ten billion cats, had to go investigate.

As I got closer to the trees, something told me to stop, turn around, and just keep walking. Unfortunately, I -never- listen to my instincts, like normal people. Instead, I kept going until I got to the middle of the, uh, _forest_. What I saw next genuinely shocked me.

A cliff. Nothing strange or unusual about that, right? Just an average, everyday cliff. A very, very, very steep one, I might add. The problem was, it shouldn't have been there. I live in Fairview Heights, Illinois, which is close to St. Louis. And, around my town, there are –no- cliffs, mountains, or even large hills. It's a very boring area geographically. That's why it was strange that there was a cliff. I, of course, -had- to look down. I mean, there was a cliff in the middle of a forest that shouldn't be there that looked down at the ground, which was probably at least two hundred feet below. I can be a little stupid at times. I mean, it never occurred to me that I might fall, because I, like most of my friends, thought I was invincible. So when the wind started to pick up, I thought nothing of it. Who would? It was just a little wind. Then, a HUGE gust of wind hit me. Needless to say, I lost my footing and fell off the cliff.

I closed my eyes and waited to hit the ground which was so many meters below. I was so scared that I couldn't even scream.

Nothing happened. That was the first thing I was aware of when the initial shock of, oh, I don't know, FALLING OFF A CLIFF wore off. Anyway, I knew I should have hit the ground by now. It was a long way away, but I had also been falling for a while. Something was wrong. Though I was –extremely- curious, I didn't want to open my eyes. There were numerous reasons for that, but I don't feel like explaining them all. So, to put it simply, I was so damn afraid of what I would see I was convinced my stomach was about to leave my body via my mouth. Still, deep down, I knew I had to look. So, I opened my eyes. Darkness. That was all I could see. It surrounded me in every direction...except one.

From –my- point of view, it looked like a window. A perfect, round window cut into the middle of the darkness around me. Just one problem- what was a window doing... wherever the hell I am?! Sadly, I was about to find out, because at that very moment, I went through it.

As it turns out, there was no actual widow, just a hole in the darkness. When I looked through it, I quickly shut my eyes again. The ground was there. Perfect. Just get my hopes up, why don't ya? Right when I thought I'd be safe, my hopes came crashing down like a sack of money dropped off the empire state building. –Interesting analogy, huh?- I can't believe the damn ground was there...again. Keyword: again. Oh, well. At least this grass looked softer.

This time, I actually hit the grass. Or something of the sort. At least it was soft, and it broke my fall. I was thankful for that. It didn't feel like bushes or grass, though. In fact, it felt sort of like a person...

Uh-oh.

I, of course, was –very- embarrassed about falling on someone's head. That was all I could think about. I didn't wonder –how- I had fallen from the sky onto someone's head, just if this qualified as the most embarrassing moment of my life. I didn't want to open my eyes. I would rather have dived into a three-inch deep pool full of ravenous alligators than open my eyes. –I have a weird mind, in case you didn't notice- But I knew I had to look sometime, and it might as well be sooner than later.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" –That was me screaming, for all the dumb, moronic people out there- The screaming only lasted about ten seconds, which was a record for me. I usually make all of my screams last at least twenty seconds, to make the people who try to scare me go deaf.

I was looking up into the face of... Sesshoumaru. I was shocked, scared, and disappointed all at once. Shocked because, let's face it, I was looking at the face of an –anime- character. Scared because said anime character just happened to be a –bit- evil. And disappointed because it wasn't Inuyasha. I mean, in all of the fan fics I read, the people falling into other worlds –always- end up falling on or near their crush. My life is SOOO unfair.

"I...this...it can't be happening. I must have been knocked unconscious when I fell, or maybe I'm dead. Wait, there's no cliffs in Fairview, so.. OH! I fell asleep on the bus, and all of this is just a dream. Not a very good dream, but a dream," I rambled, nodding my head. I was –completely- convinced that I was asleep and dreaming.

Sesshoumaru said something, but I didn't hear him. Come on, I'd just come up with an idea that made sense, do you really think I'd waste my time talking to –him-. So I just told him to shut up. –If you've seen any episode of Inuyasha with Sesshoumaru in it, then you'll know that he isn't the type to let anyone, especially someone who just fell on his head, talk to him like that.

"What did you say, human?" Sesshoumaru said in a would-be menacing voice. By would-be, I mean that it –would be- if I wasn't in the middle of a good rant. I answered, though it probably –definitely- wasn't the answer he wanted.

"I said, shut up. I really need to figure out why the hell I'm –dreaming- this. It doesn't make any sense. I mean, when I dream, I'm usually with Inuyasha, not, uh, you. Why can't I be with Inuyasha!?" I exclaimed.

Sesshoumaru just stood there, his face expressionless (what else is new). I had the –crazy- suspicion that the only reason I was alive was either a) he wondered how and why I fell out of the sky onto his head, or b) he wondered who it was who fell out of the sky...you know the rest. Either way, I was so damn lucky he was curious.

"What do you know of my brother?" Sess (Sesshoumaru's way too long to say all the time) asked.

"I know he is –so- cute, and way better than Yusuke," I replied, adding the last part after remembering an argument I'd had with my friend, Tammy. We were always arguing about who's better, Inuyasha or Yusuke. I can't even remember the results. I do know that I argued as hard as I could, and it sometimes ended in physical violence.

"I mean," Sess said, letting the impatience he was feeling go into his voice, "-how- do you know my brother?" _Is it me, or is he getting annoyed with me? Nah...who could possibly get annoyed with _me I know, ha-ha.

"Oh, I don't know him –personally-, I just watch the show. It's the _best_!" I was still convinced that this was all just a dream, in case your wondering why in the world I'm talking to Sess like I'm so much better than him. I am, but still...

I started walking around the field we were in. (I like to pace when I'm nervous or thinking seriously) Sess was just standing there, obviously waiting for further explanation. At least, that's what I thought at the time. Then, I noticed him staring at my feet. My shoes weren't trash, but they weren't the best either. And come on, it isn't everyday some one stares at your –feet-. So, naturally, I wondered what was wrong, and looked down.

Before I say what I actually saw, there are a few vital pieces of information I simply must share with you. It was a nice, clear spring day, with a temperature around mid-70's, I'd guess. The sun was shining, and my shoes were perfectly warm.

I was treading on ice. Well, technically I was walking on water, because the water turned to ice whenever my foot touched it. I had taken about ten whole steps on a little pond before I even noticed I what was going on. I'm very observant, aren't I? I would make one kick-ass spy. (That was sarcasm for all the imbeciles out there.)

That's not the best part though. (More sarcasm.) Seeing the ice startled me so much that I, uh, sorta slipped. Hey, my shoes aren't that high quality, and they aren't ice boots. What do you expect? Of course, there happened to be a very hard rock on the ground near the pond, so I –had- to hit my head on it when I fell. Graceful, huh?

-_Keia, one of my best friends in the whole world, sat at her computer. She quickly typed the current story she was writing, which I knew had something to do with Kurama, her –boyfriend-. She wrote while she waited. I knew she was waiting because of something very obvious- she kept glancing at the computer _

_every few seconds and rolling her eyes. Finally, she picked up the phone and dialed. The machine must have picked up._

"_Hi, Kariko. It's Keia. I was just calling to see where you were, because you promised that you'd drop off the _Yu Yu Hakasho_ movie I lent you after school. Well, if you get this message, call me back. You know the number. Bye." She hung up.-_

_-My mom sat in her office, worrying. The clock said 4:15. I should have called before then. Just like Keia, she called my home. That machine answered again, and she heard my voice._

"_Hi. You have reached Dawn and Kariko. We're probably home right now, but are just avoiding someone we don't like. Leave a message, though don't make it too long, and if we don't call you back, chances are it's you." My little joke._

"_It's mom. I was just wondering what is going on and where you are, since you haven't called me. If you're home, then call me back on my cell phone, because I'm leaving the office right now. See you later."_

_With that, my mom shut down her computer and prepared to leave. She gathered up extra work and put it in her briefcase. She was going home to find out where I was.-_

_-The sky is black with layers of clouds. There is no sun, but somehow I can tell it's daytime. Ice covers the ground in all directions, and frozen rain falls from the darkness that is the sky. Someone is standing in the middle of all this cold, oblivious to the world around. This person is wearing a black cloak as dark as the sky._

"_What are you doing here, human?" asks a wolf yokai as he walks out of the safety of the forest. I immediately recognize him._

"_That's none of your business. And who says I'm human?" the figured inquires in a feminine voice. "Kouga," she adds._

"_What? How do you know my name?" the wolf prince asks, a little shocked._

"_That is not important. What is important is you. Kouga, you possess strong demonic power. Not as strong as some, but good enough. You have powerful blood."_

"_So?"_

"_I need your power," she replies._

_Kouga takes a step back. He can sense the evil coming from the demon in front of him. It is definitely a demon who just looks like a human. It is all too apparent that she is dangerous. _

_The woman laughs. "Isn't this beautiful?" she says, meaning it as a rhetorical question. Slowly and deliberately, she removes the hood of her cloak. All I can see is her raven-black hair streaked with blue cascading down her back. She walks to Kouga, who doesn't move. This is partly because the temperature is so low, and partly because of shock._

"_Y...y...you," he finally manages to stutter. _

"_Yes," she says simply as she touches his arm. Kouga lets out a small gasp as his body temperature drops over eighty degrees. He falls to the ground, instantly dead._

_The ice queen, for whatever reason, starts to turn around. I don't know if she hears a noise, or if she can sense I'm standing behind her. It doesn't matter, because I am horrified of what I'll see. I know it will be horrible._

_The ice queen is me._


	2. Must Be Dreaming

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and them. And, as is the case in this chapter, I don't own 'Must Be Dreaming'.

Chapter 2: Must Be Dreaming

I let out a scream that would have made someone being attacked by three-hundred pound flaming mosquitoes feel ashamed. I've had nightmares before, but never had I experienced anything like this. They just felt so...real. Like I was actually standing there, witnessing the events. I even remembered the cold. It was intoxicating, and I could have stayed there forever if it wasn't for her. Her, the one who killed Kouga, and the only one who saw me. But, she –was- me. Confusing.

I looked around the –cave- I was in. _What am I doing in a cave?_ I wondered. There were no caves around when I landed on Sess's head. In fact, the last thing I remembered was slipping on the ice... which had crystallized beneath my feet. _I'm going crazy._ The thought that this was all a dream had been immediately dismissed once I noticed the excruciatingly painful pounding in my skull. My new theory was that I'd gone insane. By the way, I'm –not- already insane, thank-you-very-much. Actually, that idea could have been true, due to the history of crazy people in my family. Again, I am not one of them.

Ignoring my, uh, headache, I slowly stood up. I needed to stretch my body, so I started walking around the cave. It was a nice cave, though it didn't have anything in it. The fact that it was empty made me think that Sess had left me here. That would have been possible, but why would he? I mean, he is –such- a nice, caring sensitive guy. (Some more of that sarcasm stuff.) Still, why would he take the trouble to bring me to this place if he was just going to abandon me? Ouch. I shouldn't think so hard- it's not good for my overall health.

As hard as I tried, I just couldn't push that dream out of my head. I kept seeing Kouga...dead. Because I killed him. Why would I do that? Sure, Kouga isn't the greatest hero there ever was, but he isn't Naraku. And he seemed so surprised to see me, like we had known each other, so we had obviously met before. _I need to get my mind off this._ So, I started singing.

Pay close attention

Don't listen to me from now

George'll be flying this one

And it's anyone's guess how he does

This is the right turn, wrong universe

Taking me in full bloom

Fire ball, careful with that there

See what you made me do

(chorus)

I must be dreaming or

We're onto something

I must be dreaming for

I don't fall in love lawlessly

I must be dreaming or

Pinch me to waking

So undeniably yours

As long as I'm losing it so completely

(end chorus)

Incendiary glance

Be come and collide in me

zoom in enhance hold

While I go helplessly

Sky high

Magic eye

Sugar rushing

Don't stop

(chorus)

Euphoria

I can't take

Any more of yah

I'm losin it

(chorus)

Sess listened to me singing outside the cave. (I'm not psychic-I found this stuff out later) He had been sitting outside waiting for me to wake up. He closed his eyes, but it was an unconscious action. He was actually enjoying my singing. (Of course, who wouldn't? I have a great voice, if I do say so myself.) I always knew that he was a sensitive guy deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, down. Of course, as soon as he realized this fact, he opened his eyes very quickly and stood up. Still, he couldn't forget the passion he heard in my voice. "She seems to love singing," he said to himself. Then, he erased all thoughts like those and walked inside the cave.

I sighed as I finished my song. The lyrics were so beautiful, but they only last a minute. Just as I was about to start on another song, I heard footsteps. I knew it was Sess. (I take it back, I am –so- psychic. How else could I have known who was walking into a cave in the middle of nowhere?)

"You're up," he stated simply.

"Yeah," I replied oh-so-elegantly. I was still a bit shaken by the dream...or vision. I wasn't all that sure it was a dream.

"Are you prepared to answer my questions?"

"Depends on what your questions are." Of course. That's why he carried me to the cave- he wanted to know why- and how- I had fallen out of the sky onto his head. Oh well, at least my reply didn't get me into anything, like being forced to answer questions I didn't want to.

"Who are you?"

Sigh of relief. Very simple question, I think. Who am I again? Oh, yeah. "My name is Kariko Hoshi,

I'm 14, and I live in Fairview Heights, Illinois. My mom's American and my dad's Japanese, and I go to Pontiac Jr. High, and-"

"Maybe a better question would have been –what- are you?" He cut me off before I could finish my autobiography, which really sucked because I love talking about myself.

"I'm a –human-," I replied in a 'duh' kind of voice. I mean, that was probably the most stupid question I ever...wait, I forgot about Val.

"You may look human, but your not. Did you not notice the ice you were creating?" Sess explained/asked.

"Oh, yeah. What's the deal with that?" Even though I knew I wasn't dreaming, it was still –extremely- fun to talk to him like that.

"I assume you're asking how you froze the water." Sess asked what even I knew was a rhetorical question. "You're a demon. An ice demon, to be more specific. How could you not know?" His tone was a –bit- mocking when he said that last part. I didn't catch it, though. I was busy thinking of what Val would say if I told her I was a demon. Some thing like: "I always knew deep down that you were an evil creature from Hell meant to destroy my life."

"Where I come from, demons and stuff are only in fairy tales. They aren't real," I mumbled as I looked down at my shirt. It was black in color with rhinestones arranged to look like the moon, stars, and the sea. My jeans, in contrast, were very light in color. Add in the dirty sneakers, and you have a fashion disaster. I don't care, because I always thought fashion was idiotic. I'd rather spend my time doing something else, like watching anime. Look at my black hair. (It used to be brown with blonde highlights before I got tired of that.) It was simply pulled back into a ponytail. Oh, sorry. Enough about my clothes and back to the story.

"Where did you come from?" Sess asked in his usual icy tone.

"Dude, didn't I just tell you that? I come from America. It's a place in my world. Where I come from, you and this place only exist on T.V." I wasn't my usual –charming- self due to the fact that I was tired, and a bit depressed. Homesick. Yeah, homesick. I guess that's what you call it. Now, if I had been with Inuyasha, I wouldn't have cared.

"T.V.?"

"Television. It's like, uh, it's like...a book with pictures, but the pictures move across a screen. Real people play the parts. This world is only an anime show, which is basically an animated picture. It does...doesn't..." I finally surrendered and let myself yawn. You'd think that I'd be wide awake after being UNCONSCIOUS for who-knows-how-long. But I guess the visions –dreams- didn't allow me much rest. Whatever. I was tired and I wanted to sleep. I didn't care what that idiotic assassin had to say about it.

"Why don't I come back once you've gotten enough sleep to make sense." If I hadn't known better, I'd have sworn that, if only for a moment, he was being a little –gulp- sensitive.

I was still yawning, so I just nodded my head and Sess left. Unable to sit up straight anymore, I gave in

and went to sleep. It never crossed my mind that I would have more dreams.

_-Valen, my best friend, was watching T.V. Well, she wasn't actually watching a particular show, just channel surfing. She stopped when she reached channel 54, a.k.a. Inuyasha. She loves that show –almost- as much as I do. Val laid down on her mom's bed and got ready to watch the show. The previews from last week weren't enough- she had to see the actual show._

_Just as she was about to watch _Inuyasha_, something hit her window. She let out a low growl as she reluctantly crawled out of her bed. Uh-oh. This person was gonna pay. Val opened the window and leaned out. She had a deadly look on her face, like someone had just insulted Miroku. She has a crush on Miroku that is rivaled only by my crush on Inuyasha._

"_Who is it?" She yelled in a menacing tone._

"_It's just me, baka," I yelled back. Uh, dream me yelled back. It was a very weird situation- I was watching myself do all these things._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Jump!" I answered in a happy voice._

"_What? You're missing for two days, then you just show up in my backyard with no explanation at all and tell me to JUMP! Are you CRAZY?"_

"_Yeah, but that's beside the point. Trust me. Wait, go downstairs and let me in. Then I'll explain everything to you."-_

This time I didn't wake up right after my dream. I think I actually slept for a couple of hours before opening my eyes. When I did, the first thing I noticed was that Sess wasn't there. I was a little annoyed by that. I had quite a few questions to ask him, and he wasn't even there. Therefore, I decided to go looking for him.

Once I got out of the cave, I realized that I couldn't see. At first I thought it was because it was night time. I have horrible night vision, by the way. Even when I'm wearing my glasses. Wait a minute. _Where_ _are my glasses?_ I wondered. They definitely weren't on my face- I checked.

"Oh, chikusho. I must have lost them when I fell," I said to myself. I wondered how on earth could I –not- have known that I wasn't wearing my glasses. I really am slow. (Comment and you die a very slow, painful death.) I figured that my glasses were kind of important, so I decided to go back to my world and get my other pair. It was a simple solution, except for one thing- getting there. That's why I need Fluffy.

"Sesshoumaru!" I yelled at the top of my lungs from the entrance of the cave. Yelling seemed like the best way to locate Sess. I mean, I never considered that there might be, oh, a demon or two passing by on their way to kill innocent humans.

"Sesshoumaru..." I continued yelling. _I thought this guy was supposed to have super-hearing or something. Guess not._

Then, I got an idea. Not a very smart idea, but still. "Oh, Fluffy! Fluffy!" I called, hoping it would annoy him enough to find me, but not so much that he would want to kill me. A very delicate balance.

Just as I was about to start yelling again, I heard something hiss. It sounded like a snake. I hate snakes- they are second only to spiders on my list of fears. So, when I heard the hiss, I froze. I had heard that if you're really still, the snake won't bite. I think Keia told me that. She obviously had never heard about demons.

When I saw the snake yokai, it looked about thirty times as big as a regular snake, but I was only judging by the light of the full moon. It could have been longer. The creature had dark eyes and scales with fangs that were way too sharp for my liking. Oddly enough, the snake appeared to be smiling.

I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out. I guess the snake couldn't risk a strong demon coming along to help me, so it decided to finish me off then and there. Fortunately, I was able to dodge the first attack because I saw it coming. The snake was also a little slow for a demon. Keywords: for a demon. It seemed pretty damn fast compared to me.

"SESSHOUMARU!!" I screamed as the demon lunged at me again. I didn't know what else to do- I was completely helpless.

Or was I? At that moment, I thought of something. Like it or not, it seemed as if I had some sort of power over ice, so I might as well use it. Remembering the crystallized ice and the dream I had, I made a decision to fight back.

This time when the snake lunged at me I didn't dodge the attack entirely. Oh, I definitely evaded the fang, but remained close to the reptile. Reaching out my right hand, I touched the yokai's scales. I just kept thinking _'Freeze. Just freeze.'_ And guess what? It froze. Ice spread quickly from the spot where I was touching the snake to the rest of its body. Any other demon might have been able to easily escape this, but not a reptile. As everyone knows, snakes rely on heat for motion. Winter brings cold temperatures that make them unable to move. I trusted this fact when freezing the snake. Thank Kami I was right.

As I released the demon, Sess came walking up. I was –extremely- angry at him and his horrible sense of timing. You know, showing up right after I almost get killed by a humongous snake yokai.

"You slew the demon?" he asked.

"No, it just fell over frozen to death on its own free will. Of course I slew it." I tell you, these self-important demons can be ridiculously stupid at times.

"I have no time for this. You will answer my questions, and then I will decide what to do with you."

I was a –little- offended by that. "Excuse me. You can't decide what to do with me. Only –I- decide what to do with me. And right now, I want to go home." That brought up another point. "Could you perhaps show me the place where I fell on your head."

"If you answer all of my questions, then I will consider taking you to that spot when morning comes."

I had no choice but to agree.


	3. Homecoming

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and them. I've gotten over it.

Chapter 3: Homecoming

It seemed to take the sun a few days longer to rise than normal. I had gone though a night of pure torture answering Sess's endless questions. He asked about things that I couldn't even remember. For example, he asked me what was in my backpack. Easy, huh? No. I could remember basic things, like my fan fics, keys and cell phone. (We aren't supposed to bring cell phones to school, but what does the school board know?) But when he kept asking me what else was in my backpack, I almost had a breakdown. Fortunately for him, I think he noticed this. Not all of the questions were difficult- some were extremely easy, like where I came from. I told him all about my life, whether he wanted to hear it or not. Though why he asked me all these questions, I have no clue.

Sess only quit asking me questions when the sun rose, and only then because of the deal we had made. I had a feeling that he could go on forever, and I was pretty sure he was going to continue once –if- I got back.

After he finally stopped interrogating me, I stood up. I was ready to leave. Sess wasn't quite ready, though. Instead, he told me to sit down again. Once I had, he showed me a pendant with a symbol on it. The symbol was fire and ice twisted together forming a five-pointed star. It was very petty. And shiny. Then, he took out another pendant identical to the first one.

"This is the sign of the fire and ice masters. An old prophecy tells of the arrival of two powerful demons- one controlling ice, one controlling fire- from another dimension. They balance each other perfectly, and therefore, as the prophecy states, the only two who can prevent the destruction of the world when the time comes."

"So?" I said, rolling my eyes in annoyance.

"I believe you are the ice demon," Sess replied coolly.

I just sat there, mouth hanging wide open. Finding out that I'm an ice demon, a –powerful- one at that, didn't do my poor, overworked brain any good what-so-ever. After a few seconds with my mouth open, I realized it and closed my jaw. Quickly regaining composure, I stood up.

"Okay, well, take me home now," I ordered.

"Why do you insist on going home?" he inquired.

"Because I left my glasses there, and I can't see my hand in front of my face without them."

"Apparently you saw that yokai in front of your face when you killed it."

I narrowed my eyes at Sess. He knew what I meant, so why did he have to be such an ass about it? "I hate you," I said through gritted teeth.

"And I you," he agreed while smiling coldly. "Very well. Follow me." With that, Sess walked out of the cave. I, after a debate about whether I should follow or not, decided that being stubborn would only hurt me and ran to catch up with him. I was about to go home- I couldn't worry about insulting the guy right then.

The place where I'd landed was quite a long way from the cave. About two miles would be my estimate. Now, that wouldn't seem like a long distance by car, but we were walking. Plus, Sess was going at a back-breaking pace. I didn't complain, though- I would NOT give him the satisfaction of knowing I was weak. I would prove to him that I was strong. It really sucks that I'm not.

It took every ounce of will power I possessed not to collapse on the ground when we finally reached the site. It looked blurry for the most part, but otherwise still the same. The pond was still there, but the ice had melted. Thank Kami- it would have been extremely weird if it was still frozen.

Everything seemed great. I was all too ready to return home. _Okay. I got here by falling of a cliff. A cliff._

"There's no cliff here!" I exclaimed, scared to death that I wouldn't be able to go home.

"No, there isn't. This is a problem," Sess replied.

I looked at him as if he were insane. "OF COURSE THIS IS A PROBLEM! HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO GET HOME!" I yelled. At that moment, I got one of those idea things.

Before Sess had a chance to respond to my outburst, I started walking towards the pond. It was the only thing nearby that wasn't flat and grassy. I turned around to face Sess and said," If this works, se you tomorrow." Then I jumped into the water.

-----------------------------

This time, I landed in a tree. That may sound better than the ground, but it wasn't. The distance of a few feet doesn't make much difference when you're coming from the altitude I was. Plus, slamming into a thick, hard tree branch hurts, for those who haven't experienced that particular event. And, after hitting the tree, I still continued my descent to the ground.

It took me a few minutes to get up. My whole body hurt from the traveling, since there was no Sesshoumaru to break my fall. After a nice, relaxing rest, I forced myself to rise. I wanted to hurry and get back to the Inuyasha world, which was weird. I had been in a rush to get back home. I guess I'd undergone a change of heart.

When I left the forest, I found my backpack in the exact same spot I had put it when I went to investigate the sound. Picking it up, I started running. There was one person I had to inform of my adventures, and it wasn't Valen.

A few minutes later I arrived at Keia's house, which was close to the school. Her mom's van wasn't in the driveway, which was good news. I wasn't in the mood to deal with adults just then. I was barely in the mood to deal with my friends.

I walked to the back door that led to the computer room, where I knew Keia would be. She's addicted to her computer like I'm addicted to _Inuyasha_. I hesitantly stepped up to the door and prepared to knock. I hoped that she would believe me.

"Kariko? What are you doing here?" Keia asked as she opened the door.

"It's a long story. But first," I said, digging in my backpack, "is this." I handed her the Yu Yu Hakusho movie with a smile on my face.

"Uh, thanks," she replied, taking the movie.

"Sit," I ordered as I walked in the house. She sat. I guess you don't necessarily have to be Kagome to make that command work.

I also sat down and took a deep breath. Then, I told her my story. It didn't take too long, but I described every little detail and added a few things, so my throat was really sore when I finally finished. All this time while I was telling her things, Keia sat with her eyes wide and her mouth open. She knew I wasn't lying- I would never joke about something like this. When I finished, her expression quickly changed from complete awe to anger.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner! You could have come back sooner, ya know. I can't believe you didn't. And if I had walked home with you like we'd planned, I would have gotten to go there too!" she yelled in my face. Then, almost as an afterthought, she added, "Is this Sesshoumaru guy cute? I mean, is he almost as cute as Yoko Kurama?"

"I did the best I could! I was only there for one night, so I didn't have enough time to come back. And yes, Sess is pretty cute, though not as hot as Yoko. And definitely not..."

"Cuter than Inuyasha. I know," Keia finished, smiling. I had only said that phrase a million times. I had good reason to, though. –Nobody- was as hot as my Inuyasha.

"So who do you think the fire demon might be?" she asked while fingering the silver pendant Sess had given me before I left.

I briefly considered that it could be Keia since she is obsessed with fire, but dismissed the thought as I remembered the vision I'd had last night.

"Valen. Remember that vision I told you about? In it, I was telling her to jump, like I wanted her to follow me through the portal-thingy. She's probably the other prophesized demon," I replied.

"So are you going to get her like you did in the vision?" Keia wondered.

"Yeah. It seemed to work fine in the dream. I guess I must have rung the doorbell, but she wasn't able to hear because she was getting ready to watch_ Inuyasha_. That's when I went to the backyard." I slowly pieced together this puzzle.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Can you tell my mom that I'm okay and not to worry too much? I'm going to get my glasses when she's not home. I just can't put up with her right now."

"Sure. Will you come back and visit soon?" she asked.

"I'll try. It might not be easy, though. I honestly don't know what's going to happen," I said.

"You're not coming to school on Monday, are you?' Keia guessed.

"N...wait. Yes., I think I will. It might be a little fun," I decided. Me and my new ice powers were going to have some fun.

-------------------------

Now, at my front door, I started getting second thoughts. My mom's van wasn't in the parking lot, which meant that she was probably somewhere with my aunt Karen. I hoped they weren't shopping- that would be –extremely- inconsiderate of her. The only daughter she ever had goes missing and all she can think about is spending money. Some mom. Anyway, I didn't want to go in for fear of not being able to leave again. I would go to school on Monday, but then disappear for who knows how long.

Pushing those negative thoughts out of my head, I unlocked the door and stepped in. The apartment looked like it always did, and nothing felt different. The floor still sported the stain from when I had spilt ravioli on it, and the counter was still littered with my mom's bills and junk. It just didn't seem like I had spent a day in an –anime- world. So, I went to the kitchen. Who knew how long it would be until I got another halfway decent meal.

While the pizza was cooking, I went to my room. The first thing I did was look for my glasses. It took me a few minutes to locate them, but I did. When I realized that I could see better without them on, I decided to get out my lens cleaner. That really helped.

After that particular task was accomplished, I started packing. If I was going to travel to the anime world again, I would need a few things. In my backpack, I put the following items: a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, razor, fan fics, book, my digital camera, and a notebook for whatever. I didn't trust some of the things from the feudal era, like soap. I could not take any chances. My camera was for, well, vacation photos. This was the best trip I'd ever gone on.

When I finished eating the pizza, I took one last look around my apartment and left. It was only 2:00, so I had a good nine hours left before I had to be at Valen's house. I went to see the ducks.

At my apartment, there is a pond in the very center of it. In the cemetery next to my apartment, there are three ponds. I went to the smallest one where nobody ever goes. Val and I discovered it by accident. One day we were just walking along the street in the cemetery, and she wanted to go back to my apartment. I told her no, because there was another pond close to us. At that time, I hadn't known this pond existed, so it was kind of cool. Anyway, I went back to this water for one reason- it was time to conduct an experiment or two.

I climbed down the rocks on the side of the pond and stopped. Carefully, I stepped onto the water. Just like before, it froze. I walked about fifteen feet from the land, then turned around. As I walked back, I made the ice melt behind me. Sitting down, I touched the water with my hand. I had wondered if the water would freeze when I did this. I thought it would, and I was right.

----------------------------

The light was on in Val's mom's room. I stood in her backyard with a rock in my hand. Time to make the vision become reality. I had walked over to her house around 9:00, according to my watch. The watch now said it was fifteen seconds until _Inuyasha_.

I flung the rock as hard as I could at the window. Any second now, Valen would open it. She would really be surprised to see me.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, baka!' I yelled back, lie in the dream.

"What are you doing?!" she asked.

I decided that telling her to jump was a truly idiotic thing to do, so I skipped ahead to the last part. "Let me in and I'll explain."

I saw her leave the window, so I ran around to the front door. In a few seconds, she opened the door.

"What's up?" she asked, sitting down on the couch in her living room.

"You're never going to believe it in a million years, but I swear on Inuyasha that it's true," I swore, using the only promise she would believe. I then launched into a detailed version of my story, and acted out everything. Of course, acting out the part where I hit my head on a rock wasn't very smart. I even told her about the visions, and how I thought she was the fire demon. When I finished, she asked to see the pendants. I took them out of my pack and handed one to her.

"Wow, she breathed as she examined the pendant. Then, she walked to the computer room and brought out leather cord, She proceeded to fashion a chain out of it for the pendant, because the medallion had a hole just big enough in it.

"Here," she said, handing the leather to me. "We need to make sure these don't get lost. They seem somewhat important."  
  
While making my own cord, I wondered how in the world she was taking this news so calmly. –I- was supposed to be the sane one, and Valen was the crazy-insane-psychopathic one. I guess she was just shocked by it all.

"So, when are we leaving?" she inquired.

"Monday morning. I want to go to school one last time," I told her.

"Ohhh...I see," she said, noticing the evil tone in my voice. "When do I get my powers?"

"I think that going through the portal activated mine, so it might be the same for you."

"Oh," Valen replied, looking down. I could tell that she was disappointed because she wouldn't be able to use her fire power at school too. "Anyway, where are you going to stay till then?"

"Sleepover, anyone?" I replied, grinning.

------------------------------

Monday morning came all too soon. Val and I had done nothing but pointless fun stuff that entire weekend, because who knew how long it would be until we were able to again. It was hard hiding from her parents, but I managed. In fact, it was kind of exiting, the whole hiding thing. To me, at least. That's why I was sad on Monday. Still, I was anxious to wreak havoc on my last day at Pontiac Jr. High.

I woke up at 5:00 since I had to walk to school. I borrowed some of Val's clothes to wear, and was out of there in thirty minutes. Fortunately for me, Valen lives right on the border of Swansea, so I didn't have to walk –that- far. While walking to school, I prayed that Keia had spoken to my mom before she had a chance to call the school.

Keia had succeeded. When I arrived at school, twenty minutes late, the secretary acted perfectly normal. I let out an inward sigh of relief.

Nothing unusual happened until third hour. I have English then, and the second most annoying person ever- Brandon- sits right behind me. While I'm trying to work, he pokes me –and- hits me in the back. He won't stop. Well, now he was definitely going to pay.

That day, as he was walking by my desk, he grabbed my pencil out of my hand. Then, he didn't give it back, but just stood there.

"Give.That.Back," I said in my evil voice.

Brandon just kept ignoring me. I, needless to say, was very annoyed at the baka. Then, I wondered if floors would freeze as easily as water. Might as well give it a try.

He was only a foot away from me, so nobody would have been able to see unless they were staring intently at my feet. I called on my power and made the floor ice over. Not very much, just enough to reach were Brandon was standing. When he slipped and fell flat on his face, I was one of the people laughing hysterically. Then, I called the ice back so it looked like an accident.

Next hour, I went to PE. I decided to do something mean and evil to Rod. I didn't like him for various reasons. For one, he's a hentai, and he's always bugging me. Not for long. Mwahaha.

We were playing basketball indoors since it the students from William Holliday were using the track. Mrs. Walsh had gone to the office to check something out, so I went and leaned against the basket. I then used my powers to form a ring of ice around the inside of the hoop. When Rod shot the ball, it got stuck. Perfect.

Naturally, everyone was wondering what had happened. Except Keia, who was trying not to look too suspicious, since she was in on the whole thing.

"Why don't you try shooting another ball to force it out?" My fellow conspirator suggested innocently.

Rod went to get another ball. While he was gone, I spread the ice from the hoop to the basketball. When he came back and shot the new ball, I froze it to the other one. Rod, of course, cursed and stood under the hoop.

"I don't see anything wrong with it," he said as he looked up. Then, all of a sudden, he looked at me.

"You did something," he accused.

I shrugged my shoulders and called the ice back. When I did, the first basketball dropped and hit Rod on the top of the head. Then when he looked up to see what hit him, the second one dropped and hit him in the face. 'These new powers are so much fun,' I thought between laughs.

-------------------------------

"So this is the cliff?" Val asked as she looked down nervously.

"Yup," I replied. I had my backpack on with the straps tied around my waist. Valen had done the same. We had walked to her house after school, and she left a note explaining things to her parents. Man, would they be surprised. Then, we walked her. I didn't know if jumping from a window or something would have the same results, or land us in the right place, so we just came to the good ole cliff.

"I'm ready," she stated simply.

I nodded and took a deep breath. It was scarier the second time, since the first time was a complete accident. We had to do it, though. I couldn't. I took a step back and froze. Valen got behind me, and I thought she had the same thoughts. Until she pushed me.


	4. When You Play With Fire

Refer to chapters 1-3 for disclaimer

rubychik09: Yes, I did use real people's names in the last chapter. Mrs. Walsh is a real PE teacher. By the way, my friend Dusty, who Keia's based on, has a total of five names, and she can spell them all in a row really quickly. It's quite amazing(annoying) actually.

Chapter 4: When You Play With Fire

Sesshoumaru was mad, to put it mildly. Of course, no one could really know for sure, but it was just a feeling. I mean, he kept looking at me very evilly. But then again, what else is new?

"I cannot believe this," Valen said as we followed Sess back to the cave.

"At least you had a few days to get used to the idea. I just fell in here without any warning. Literally," I responded truthfully.

"Is that thing really a tail?" Val asked me in a whispered, presumably so Sess wouldn't be able to her. It didn't work very well.

"Yes, it is. Now will you two please be quiet," he growled. Damn super hearing.

Val glared at his back and started playing with her necklace. 'He really is an evil, insensitive jerk.'

"I know," I whispered back.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"You said, 'he really is an evil, insensitive jerk.' I was just agreeing with you," I explained matter-of-factly. What a baka.

"No, I didn't. I just thought that. Did you read my mind? Did you hear what I just thought?"

"No. Wait try touching your pendant again. You were touching it when I heard your thoughts." It could work.

'Can you hear me now?'

'Yes. Omigod. This is so cool! We can talk about Sess without him hearing. Oh, the beautiful possibilities,' I thought.

Valen rolled her eyes. 'Onna no baka."

I though-growled at her. 'You're calling me the idiot? I mean, look who's talking hentai-kin.' I used the Japanese word for 'pervert-girl. That always makes Val mad. There was no exception this time.

"Why you!" she yelled aloud before proceeding to chase me. It was becoming a routine- I insult her or Miroku, and she chases me until I take it back.

"I take it back! I take it back!" I screamed as Val choked me. When she heard that statement, she let go of my neck.

"Will you two stop fighting like animals and start acting like civilized demons?" Sesshoumaru requested, clenching his fist.

Val and I both stuck out our tongue at him and flipped him off at the same time, like we'd read each other's minds. But we hadn't- we've just been friends for a long time. Luckily, Sess had started walking again and didn't see us.

The rest of the walk was relatively boring. Sess kept going at an inhuman (almost demonic) pace, while Val and I struggled to keep up while communicating telepathically. It was so fun: we were dissing Sess, and he didn't even know it. Ha-ha. When we finally arrived at the little cave, there was a little surprise.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! You're back!" a little girl about eight years old piped while rushing to Sesshoumaru. Yes, it was Rin.

"Hi, Rin," I said, smiling at the child. She was even cuter in person! 'I wonder if Shippou is this cute here.'

"Who are you?" she asked Valen and me.

"I'm Kariko and this is Valen. We're friends of Sesshie here," I replied, noting with satisfaction the evil glare Sess gave me. I know I was pressing my luck, but it was so fun.

"Are they humans?" Jaken inquired as he stepped out of the cave. Unlike Rin, he was even more ugly in person. My poor, poor eyes.

"Do we look human, baka?" Val shot back. Then, she seemed to realize the stupidity of that question. "I mean, we might look human, but we're not. We're demons. At least, Kariko is. I haven't gotten a chance to use my power yet. But when I do, I'll be more powerful than –him-," she pointed to Sess when she said this, who looked like he seriously doubted anyone could be more powerful than he could. "It could happen." Val had also seen the look.

'I will be –so- much powerfuller than him,' Val tele-told me.

'Ya, me too. But there's no such word as powerfuller. You mean more powerful,' I corrected.

'Whatever. You know what I mean. I will, though. I wish a Chikusho demon would attack so I can finally prove it!'

'Be careful what you wish for. I had a demon attack me, and it wasn't fun. Well, actually, it was, but that's not the point. Or is it?'

'It was the point, and I want to fight! Why is everyone staring at us?'

I looked around. Sure enough, Sess, Rin, and Jaken were staring at us as if we were aliens. I guess seeing people looking as if they were talking without any sound is pretty weird.

"What?" I asked. I didn't want them to know that Val and I could speak mind-to-mind. It should have been our little secret.

"Are you practicing you're facial expressions? If so, then please do it at a time when nothing important is occurring," That was Sess, duh. Who else could sound that bored, like he couldn't care less about what was going on?

"Who in their right mind practices facial expressions? We were…"

'Don't tell them,' I mentally warned Valen. 'This could be useful later if we don't let anyone else know about it.'

'Fine. Just let them think we're crazy,' Val said, uh, thought as she shot me an evil glare.

'You are crazy, hentai-kin. Almost as insane as… Miroku.'

"TAKE IT BACK!" she yelled as she knocked me to the ground. Then, she put her foot on my throat with a deadly look on her face.

"I take it back," I said in a sheesh-don't-take-it-so-personally tone. She lifted her shoe off my throat. Ah, fresh air.

"What are you talking about?" Rin asked in a confused voice.

'I guess we have to tell them,' I thought to Val.

'Ya, you do it.' There's gratitude for you.

"Well, you see, we can talk to each other mind-to-mind. The pendants we have allow us to do that, I think," I explained.

"Interesting. The prophecy doesn't state that the demons can communicate telepathically," Sess said.

"Well, we can. Get used to it, Fluffy," Valen responded.

"What did you call me?"

"Uh, she meant to call you Sesshoumaru, but was thinking about her cat, named Fluffy. Simple mistake." I always have to clean up after Val's mistakes. It's just not fair.

"Hello, Sesshoumaru. It's been a long time, hasn't it?" I turned around to see a woman walking towards us. She had green hair and eyes, and her skin had a partial green tint to it. Normally that would look disgusting, but this youkai was beautiful. She made me feel a little ashamed of myself. I quickly got over that, though. For some reason, she seemed a little familiar.

"Keia, what are you doing here?" Sess asked.

'Oh. My. God. That's why she seemed familiar!' I thought.

'What do you mean?' Valen asked.

'One of my best friends at Pontiac, named Keia, looks almost exactly like her! Well, except for the green features, of course.' This statement just received a stunned silence.

"I was just passing through. I will leave if you wish," Keia replied to Sess's question. She turned her head to show rows of red rose petals going down her hair. When she turned back to look at me, I saw my friend's necklace. It was a beautiful necklace- an emerald heart with wings on a gold chain. American-Keia had gotten it when her grandmother had died. "Who are they?" she asked, looking at us.

"They are the two demons the prophecy spoke of. The one with the black hair is ice, the other one with the red hair is fire," Sess answered.

"I see. And why are –you- with them?"

Before Sess had a chance to answer, another youkai came crashing through the trees. This one didn't look so friendly. With eight legs and eight eyes, I'd have to say it was a spider demon. Just my luck.

'I'll handle this,' Val thought. I didn't object. I wanted her to fight it, and by the looks of it so did everyone else.

Valen stomped up to the demon. Then, she growled at it. I hope she wasn't trying to intimidate the spider, because that would have been very pathetic. In response to her, uh, growl, the spider barred its fangs and crawled closer to Val.

'Try touching it and telling it to burn,' I suggested. She got the message, but didn't have time to reply. Instead, she dropped to the ground when the youkai charged at her. Then, she grabbed its leg and apparently willed it to burn, because that's what it did.

'Thanks,' Val thought as she quickly moved from the path of the fire. When she was sure the demon was dead, she stopped the flames.

"Impressive," Keia remarked when she saw the great amount of…nothing. Valen had succeeded in burning all traces of the demon.

"I know! I mean, thank you," she said, smiling to herself.

"This place is a demonic hot spot. We should go somewhere else," I suggested.

"I agree," Rin said.

"Fine. We'll leave if we must," Sesshoumaru growled as he walked away.

"He isn't one to give much notice, is he?" Valen asked.

"No, he isn't," Keia answered with the hint of a smile on her face. 'Do they like each other?' I asked Valen.

"Do you two like each other?" Val asked my question aloud to Keia.

"We used to. Sesshoumaru and I were to be mates, but something happened," she began. 'Fluffy has a fiancé?' I wondered to myself. "Then, one hundred years ago, a great war erupted. The Lord of the South became greedy and wanted Sesshoumaru's lands. He sent the largest army ever known to invade the West. My father was that Southern lord. Naturally, he didn't want me to become mates with Sesshoumaru. After the war ended eighty years ago, the West and South have been at each other's throats. I was afraid to come back here because of that. My father died last year, and I came here to propose a treaty between the West and South."

"Fun. Do you think Sess'll go along with the whole treaty thing?" I asked while getting over the effect that the story had on me. It was kind of sad that Sess and Keia were torn apart by the demands of war. Maybe now they would be able to live happily ever after. That would be too simple, though. And –nothing- is ever simple.

"I hope so. I'd hate to go to war with him again."

"So, do you still have feelings for him?" Valen asked innocently. Ha ha. Her being innocent. Ya right.

"No. If I acted like I did, then I was just remembering the past. What life was like a hundred years ago." Keia sounded really sad when she said this, like she regretted something.

After that, we continued to walk in silence. Just as the sun was setting, we came across a village. Sess told Jaken to take Rin back to his place in the West, and said Val and I could stay in the village overnight.

"Why aren't you coming with us?" I asked.

"That is a village of demon exterminators. I have no wish to engage in useless fighting right now," Sess answered. Wow, I thought he –always- wanted to fight.

"Won't they exterminate us? We are demons, after all," I pointed out. I was a little bit offended.

"You look like humans. Keia and I don't. Now go, and come back at sunrise," he ordered. 'Why is he making us leave?' I thought.

'Apparently, Sess thinks we're too weak to fight a humongous demon if one attacks,' Val answered as she began to walk to the village.

'Why are you going? Don't you want to prove him wrong?'

'Yes, but not right now. That spider took a lot af fire power to kill. I feel weak.'

'Fine, then," I replied, following her. I wasn't feeling too strong right at that moment, either. Not that I would ever admit it, though.

I was nervous about entering the village. Even if Valen and I did look human, we weren't. I was scared that the villagers would know this, though I wasn't sure that they could figure it out. Val and I were new to the whole demonic powers thing, and we might accidentally use them That would be a dead giveaway that we weren't human. Unless the villagers were –that- slow. But then again, they could be like Sango and only kill evil demons. I was about to find out, because we had just walked into the village.

"Hello. Welcome to our village. May I ask your names and business?" We were greeted by a woman with long brown hair and a white kimono with pink flowers on it. Ugh, pink. I hate pink- it's the color of the devil. Still, she seemed nice enough.

"I'm Kariko, and this is Valen. We were just looking for a place to stay for the night," I replied.

"Where are you going?" the woman asked.

"We don't know. We're just sort of wandering around, trying to find demons. We are dedicated to protecting people from dangerous youkai," Valen answered.

"Really? You'll fit in, then. This is a village of demon exterminators. My name is Kaiho. You can stay with my husband an me," she offered.

I nodded. Kaiho then led Valen and me to a small but nice hut. She showed us what had to be a guest room, and then proceeded to give us a tour. When we reached the kitchen, Valen's stomach started growling. I know this simply because anyone located within a five through tem mile radius of her stomach would have heard.

"Would you like something to eat?" Kaiho asked. Val nodded her head a little too eagerly in response. The villager then started cooking soup for us. It tasted great, but nothing is as good as Campbells.

Suddenly, just as we were about to finish our soup, screams were heard from out side the hut. "Demon attack. We'd better go," Kaiho declared, racing out. Valen and I didn't know what else to do but follow, though she seemed mad about having to leave her soup. We wouldn't be able to fight, but if we had to we could easily kill the youkai.

When we saw the demons, my jaw dropped in shock. I could not believe who the demons were.By the looks of it, neither could Val. Of course, she was busy staring at the monk.

"Inuyasha?" I asked as I stepped closer to the hanyou.

"Yeah. What do you want?" I, of course, did what any other crazed Inuyasha fan would do- ran screaming up to him and tackled the demon. I think he was a –bit- surprised by that.

"Omigod! The doggie ears are SO ADORABLE! They're even better in person! I just want to tug them!" I screamed. Then, I tugged on said doggie ears.

Kagome was just standing there looking at the scene, Miroku and Shippou were laughing their asses off, and Sango was in the same state as Kagome. Miroku wasn't laughing for long, because Valen rushed up to him and started more hugging madness.

The monk, of course, had to ruin my best friend's moment br groping her. I had calmed down a little by then, so I saw the whole scene. The next second, I heard a slap.

"HENTAI! Still, I've always wanted to do that. Oh! Can you show me the Kazaana? That would be so awesome!" Valen exclaimed, eyes wide in anticipation.

"Are you insane?" Miroku asked, his face still red from the smack.

"Maybe sometimes, but right now I'm just exited to see you! I love you! You are so much better than Inuyasha." Valen made a fatal mistake.

"HE IS NOT! My guy is way better than that pervert!" I screamed at her.

"Miroku may be a perv, but at least he's sensitive, unlike that jerk," she countered, pointing at Inuyasha.

When Inuyasha started to object to being called an insensitive jerk, I kicked him This was my battle. I growled and narrowed my eyes at Val, and she did the same. . I guess we both saw the expressions on each other's face, because we started laughing simultaneously. I know Val looked retarded, and I guess I did too.

"They really are crazy," Shippou observed. I just then noticed the little kitsune standing by Kagome. He –was- even more adorable in person.

"What is going on?" Kaiho asked in a severe tone. "Do you two know these people?"

"Not technically, but we know of them. I am a devoted Miroku fan," Valen answered, staring at the monk. I was still tugging the doggie ears, so it was pretty obvious that I was in love with Inuyasha.

"How do you know of them?" Kaiho wondered aloud.

"We're from the same place Kagome is, and we read about them in books," Valen said.

"How did you get through the well?" Kagome asked, confusion in her face.

"Dunno. We just sort of fell through," I said. Kagome nodded to show she understood. We couldn't tell them the truth, now, could we?

At that moment, Sesshoumaru and Keia came walking in. Aww, I didn't know he cared. Oh, screw it. It was probably Keia's idea.

"Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha growled.

"I have no patience for you right now, half-breed. I've come for them," Sess replied, looking at Valen and me. I was a little intimidated by him.

"I don't care what you have or don't have. I won't let you hurt anyone," Inuyasha said, drawing the Tetsusaiga. I smiled- he can be so cute when he's angry. Still, I couldn't let Inuyahsa start fighting again. It never ended well.

"It's okay, Inuyasha. Sesshie here has been helping us," I explained.

"Sesshoumaru doesn't help humans," Inuyasha replied.

"That's not entirely true. There was that one time when he brought Rin back to life. And we're demons, not humans. Deal with it." Sometimes the best way to talk to Inuyasha is with force.

Inuyasha just glared at his brother, who glared back. Then, Sess spoke. "Come. It's time to leave," he ordered.

"Do we have to?" Valen whined looking at Miroku. I felt the same way about leaving my guy.

"It would be best if we left now," Keia replied, glancing nervously around at the demon exterminators. I could tell she was a little worried that they would start attacking at any moment. I was more concerned about leaving Inuyasha than some –puny- humans.

"They may be demons, but I'm not letting you take them anywhere," I was offended by what Inuyasha said. He continued. "They stay with us."

-----------------------------

"How were you so sure we were the demons from the prophecy?" I asked Inuyasha, who was sitting across from me.

"You weren't human, and your clothes are even weirder than Kagome's." he replied. At the comment about her clothes, Kagome stood up.

"It's my school uniform, and it's not weird. Sit, boy!" she yelled, and he fell flat on his face. Val, Keia, and I simultaneously started laughing. What else could we do?

It was a rather awkward situation- Inuyasha and Sess were getting along. Gasp. Well, not perfectly, but they hadn't gone homicidal. Completely. We were all sitting around a fire, since Val had wanted one. I was sitting next to Kagome, who was by Sango. Inuyasha and Sess were as far away from each other as possible. We were talking about…everything. Inuyasha had known about Valen and me- Kaede had told hin about the prophecy a couple of days ago. She had sensed something, and guessed that we had arrived. Kagome persuaded(sat) Inuyasha to come and help us, and that's when we met them. Right now, I love my life.

"Will you stop doing that!" Inuyasha exclaimed. What was he so worked up over?

"If you stop insultin me," Kagome countered.

"Keh." Inuyasha sat back down in a more comfortable position Val and I just laughed more. It was –so- hilarious. Inuyasha glared at us.

"Well, it was funny. Especially after you insulted our clothes," I said, defending Valen and myself.

"It was pretty funny, Keia laughed. I silently thanked her for her support. Inuyahsa just crossed his arms and looked away.

"Anyway, what are we supposed to do exactly?" I asked, deliberately changing the subject. And I was actually wondering about that.

"The prophecy stated that two demons would come at a time when the world was in great peril. Together, they will defeat the ultimate evil youkai and preserve the world for another 500 years." Sesshoumaru explained. He sounded like he was quoting a textbook.

Keia said what I was thinking before I could. "That still doesn't explain what they have to –do-. AS in, how are they supposed to stop the demon, not what the prophecy says. Stop quoting books and think for yourself." Wow. She got two of my thoughts out in the open. And, as an added bonus, Sess looked like he would have killed her, if not for their past. It must have taken a lot not to.

"Books are better informants than the trees, Keia. At least I don't waste my time talking to flowers," Sesshoumaru countered in his usual monotone.

Keia looked like she was about to explode. " I may talk to flowers, but they know more than you'd think. And at least I'm not made of ice! I have actual emotions!"

"That's why I am stronger than you, Keia. Your kingdom will fall, and I'll be the one taking over. Your "emotions" don't allow you to accept things for what they really are. You're weaker than humans." Sesshoumaru shocked me. How could he talk to Keia like that? I thought they were in love, and now he is threatening her lands. Jerk.

I decided that it was time to butt in. "At least humans don't become extinct in the near future." I know –I- am a demon, but I still considered myself a human. "Youkai are only legends, things people mock on Halloween. Whatever you know about demons, Sesshoumaru, will be of no value. At least Keia is doing something that will benefit the world in a few years. Nothing you do will matter. Your life is pointless." I finished in an icy tone that would rival Sess's.

Sesshoumaru walked over to where I was sitting. I immediately stood up. I was too angry to be intimidated by him. Grr.

"What makes you think you can talk to me like that? You may be the demons from the prophecy, but prophecies can change. If what you said was true, then I really wouldn't care if the world was saved or not." He drew Toukijin, and pointed it at me, looking like he intended to use it. That's when I became scared. I also didn't feel like fighting then, so I did the smart thing.

"I don't have time for this right now," I said, stalking off. Sess didn't even follow me. How sweet is that? I walked for over ten minutes, then stopped in front of a tree. Then, like a perfectly civilized person, I started kicking and punching it. When I finished, I climbed the tree. I needed to sing.

Catch me as I fall

Say you're here and it's all over now

Speaking to the atmosphere

No one's here and I fall into myself

This truth drives me into madness

I know I can stop the pain if I will it all away

If I will it all away

(chorus)

Don't turn away

Don't try to hide

Don't close your eyes

Don't turn off the light

I'm frightened by what I see

But somehow I know that there's much more to come

Immobilized by my fear

And soon to be blinded by fear

I can stop the pain if I will it all away

If I will it all away

(chorus)

Fallen angels at my feet

Whispered voices at my ear

Death before my eyes

Lying next to me I fear

She beckons me shall I give in

Upon my end, shall I begin

Forsaking all I've fallen for I rise to meet the end

I omitted the last verse or so because I felt like it. I love that song. It's my favorite Evanescence song ever. I love the words, but I usually don't listen to it at night because of the creepy Latin chanting.

I was glad nobody came to find me. I needed to be alone and calm down. But it was too hot for comfort, so I lowered the temperature. It was easy, actually- freezing air was similar to freezing other things, but a lot easier. I yawned, and closed my eyes. Sleep was my second best anger management skill- hitting things was much better. With that thought, I fell unconscious.

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-Valen was arguing with Sess by the fire. She was yelling about how demons were idiotic and stupid. I couldn't understand the exact words, but I could easily tell that he was mad. Sess obviously said something really evil to offend Val, because she started screaming.

"I HATE YOU! YOU DESERVE TO BURN IN HELL!" As she finished, the trees erupted in flames. The fire formed a ring around them, reaching –extremely- high.

"What the hell did you do?!" Inuyasha yelled, looking at Val accusingly.

"I…I don't know. I was just angry."

"You stupid idiot! You don't even know how to control your powers! How the hell are you supoosed to help us?" Inuyasha was being a real jerk.

The flames were too high for Inuyasha or Sess to jump over, and Keia looked like she was sick. The humans were just staring at the fire. I expected Kiliala to transform, but she was unconscious. I guess she didn't like heat. It did not look good for them. –

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I woke up with a headache. The cause of it was clear enough- I had fallen out of the tree and hit my head on a root. My poor head. I didn't worry about it too much, because I needed to get back to the campsite- I had to prevent the vision.

I'm no track star- it usually takes me fifteen minutes to run the mile. But that night I ran faster than that one dude who won the Olympics in August. I had motovation- if I didn't get there in time, my friends would die. Though would that really be such a bad thing? Joking.

I felt sick to my stomach when I saw the fire. It was huge. I doubted anyone could survive that. Except someone who's immune to fire, however.

There's an idea! 'VALEN!" I mentally yelled to my friend on the other side of the fire. 'Come here!'

'How? I…I don't know how!' she sounded way too panicked. She would need to calm down if my plan was to work.

'Just walk through. I don't think the fire will hurt you,' I thought, telling her my theory.

'You THINK!!! That's not very reassuring, Kariko."

'Would you rather burn to death without trying anything?' I tried my best to reason with her. Apparently, she took what I said to heart, because she appeared a moment later.

"I guess my idea worked," I said.

"Yeah. But what do we do now?"

"Try calling the fire back, like when you fought the spider."

"IT's so much bigger, though," she said. Only then did I notice her tear-streaked face.

"Listen, Val. If you don't try, then everyone in there will die. Miroku will die. Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Sango, Kagome, and Shippou will die. It's just a fire- you can handle it."

Valen nodded. Then, she cancentrared on the fire, but nothing happened. I guess she was still way worked up. I don't blame her- the fight with Sess was still fresh, and she was really panicking. Plus, the temperature was high, and people's tempers are always worse when it's hot. Oh, another idea.

I cooled the air around us. In theory, it was supposed to calm Val down so she could stop the fire. It worked. The fire slowly disappeared as Val brought it back. I, for one, was relieved. Everyone was alive for now- other fights could wait till later.


End file.
